Combination child&#39;s play-chair and commode.



W. H. YOUNG.

COMBINATION CHILD'S PLAY CHAIR AND COMMODE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26- I914.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH (30., WASHINGTON, D. c.

W. H. YOUNG.

COMBlNATlON CHILD'S P LAY CHAIR AND COMMODE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26. 1914.

1,170 594. Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

- 36 35 ,jwuwn coz,

Wifnemeo THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 130.. wASHlNurDN. D4 c.

PATENT WILLIAM H. YOUNG, OF THOMSON, GEORGIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

COMBINATION GHILIDS PLAY-CHAIR AND COMMODE.

Patented Feb. 8, 11916.

Application filed June 26, 1914. $eria1No. 847,428.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Yours, a citizen-of'the United States, residing at Thomson, in the county of McDufiie and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Combination Childrens Play-Chairs and Commodes, of which the following is a specification.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel form of combination playchair and commode for infants and young children which will be exactly suited to the requirements of the user, and which, while light in weight, will be strong and durable.

Another object is to provide a novel form of collapsible or foldable play-chair and commode, whichmay be readily and easily collapsed or folded, so as to occupy a mini mum space, whereby it may be conveniently placed in a trunk or suit-case, when traveling, or shoved behind or under furniture, or comfortably carried in the hand.

Another object is to provide a novel form of play-chair and commode, which shall be sanitary; and, to this end, 1 construct my device of sheet metal and wire, which may be easily scalded and thus rendered sanitary, in case of sickness of the user of the chair.

nother object is to provide a novel form of play-chair and commode which may be folded into such a small compass and be of such minimum thickness that it can be easily slipped into a suitable cover, such as an ordinary lawyers leather briefcase, or the like, so as to hidethe commode feature from passersby, when the device is being carried, in folded or collapsedcondition, through a citys streets; whereby the embarrassment usually attending such carryingof a commode in public is obviated. Another object is to provide a device of the character noted which may be conveniently rested upon the largeseat of an ordinary water-closet,,as in cars, boats, hotels, etc, to prevent theinfant fallingv or slipping through the large opening of such ordinary water-closet; making the holding of the infant on such a seat much easier for the mother or nurse.

Another object is to provide such a device with a tray which cooperates with the chair in maintaining the parts thereof in operative set-up position, against collapse, and which holds the infant against falling in any direction off of tllechfllT-SGZYE; for, in

falling, the infants legs catch under the A further object is to provide an .infants play-chair and commode which shall be neat and attractive in appearance.

Another objectis to provide an infants play-chair and commode, in the construction of whichno pins or bolts are necessary.

Subordinate objects and refinements of construction will appear as the specification proceeds and the nature of the invention more fully appears.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated form of embodiment of my invention capable of carrying out the underlying principles thereof; and in these drawings like reference-characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The several views of the drawings may be briefly described as follows:

Figure 1 isa perspective view of my device in set-up or operative position; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective detail view of thetray and its support; Fig. 8 is a trans verse sectional view through my device; Fig. 11 is a bottom plan view of my device in folded or collapsed position.

Referring, now, in detail to the drawings: 1 designates the seat of my chair, which is, preferably, constructed as a metallic plate, having, desirably, the depending edge flanges 2, 3, d and 5. The flanges 2, 3 and 4c are, advantageously, perpendicular or at right angles to the seat 1, while the flange 5 may, advantageously, be curved in transverse section, as shown in Fig. 3. The flange 5 may, preferably, also, be curved longitudinally, so as to form a plurality of bends 6, 6, conveniently and comfortably receiving the infants legs. The seat 1 is, preferably, formed from sheet metal, struck up into the desired and described shape, so that the seatmay be scalded and thereby rendered sanitary in case of sickness of the child using the chair. The seat is provided with a central commode-orifice 7, and the seat 1, surrounding the said orifice, may be mentalities, which .are given as an illustratory example: A spring member,preferably a metallic strip 10, of spring material, is secured, as by rivets 11, toward each end thereof, to the under surface of the cover 9, and is preferably curved or rolled at, its ends, as shown at 12,12, which frictionally engage the flange 8 when the cover 9 is in operative position. Disposed between the strip 10 and the cover 9 is a lock ing-bar 13, pivoted, intermediate its length, as at 14, tothe longitudinal center of the strip 10, and having hook-ends 15, 15 to hook over the flange 8, thereby locking. the cover 9 to the seat 1, against upward displacement of said cover. The strip 10 is bent, as shown in Fig.3, so as to be offset or spaced from the cover 9 for the greater portion of the length of said strip, whereby the locking-bar 13 is capable of being rotated,.in opposite directions, on the arc of a circle. As shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 4, the orifice 7 in the seat 1 is substantially oval shaped, and the locking-bar 13 is of a length to span the width of said orifice 7, in which position it lockingly engages the flange 8, so as to secure the cover 9 in locked position on the seat 1; but said bar 13 is of insufiicient length to span the length of said orifice 7, whereby, when said bar is rotated from the locked position thereof, shown in Figs. 8 and 4, toward the limit of its rotary movement, the hook ends ride off of the flange 8, thereby disengaging the cover 9 from the seat 1, when the former may be bodily removed from the latter. The seat 1 carries, on its flanges 2, 3 and 4, spring clips 16, 16, 16, for a purpose hereinafter appearing.

Rotatably mounted in tubular bearings 17, 17, 1'7, 17, carried by the inner surface of theilanges 2 and 3, are the angled ends 18,

18, 18, 18 of rods 19, 19, 19, 19, constituting chair-legs, which are right-augularly bent, at their opposite extremities, to form feet 20, 20, 20, 20, adapted to rest upon the ground or floor, or other surface, when the chair is in set-up position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The feet 20 are connected by integral, bow-shaped portions 21, 21, which, when the chair is in folded position and the rods 19, 19, 19, 19 folded against the under surface of the seat 1, encircles the orifice 7 and the flange 8 (as shown clearly in Fig. 4), so as not to obstruct the seat-orifice 7. This pe- In this instance, said securing means culiar construction of the chair-legs is deemed important, as it permits them to be folded flat against the seat 1 (as in Fig. 4), without contacting with the flange 8, or obstructing the seat-orifice 7 Adjacent the angled ends 18, 18, 18, 18,.the leg-rods 19, 19, 19,19 are bent, so as to form loops 22, 22, 22,22, for a purposepres'ently appearing.

My invention contemplates novel locking means, to hold the legs in operative position,

means, therefore, comprises asprlng member 23, which is, preferably, a rod, of spring material, disposed in proximity to and parallel with the seat-flange 4, and may be mounted, for limited rotary movement, in tubular bearings 24, 24, carried by. the inner surface of the flange 4. The locking-rod 23 v is provided with opposite, angled extensions 25, 25, provlded, at their ends, with hooks 26, 26. The locking-rod 23 maybe rotated so as to bring the hook-ends 26, 26 thereof in engagement with the seat-flanges 2, 3 when the chair is in collapsed or folded position; and it may be rotated in the reverse direction, so that it assumes the position shown in Fig. 1, with the hook-ends 26, 26

in engagement with the adjacent pair of leg-rods 19, 19, but further movement in this reverse direction is prevented by any suitable means, preferaby by the following: The locking-rod 23 is provided, intermediate its ends, with a bent or offset portion 23,

which, when the rod 23 is rotated to the positlon shown in Flg. 1, contacts with, and bears wlth upward pressure against, the

under surface of the springclip 16, thus,

resiliently bending the latter upward. The rod 23 is thus, in the position shown in Fig; 1, under stress, and the. hook ends 26, 26 are binding tightly against the'adjacent pair of leg-rods 19, 19, thus holding them firmly against movement or collapse.

Engaging one pair of loops22, 22 are the hook ends 27, 27 of rods which constitute the chair side-arms. -These chair sidearm rods are peculiarly formed,for a particular purpose. Each of them comprises a reversely curved portion 28, which, when said side-arm rodsare folded against the bottom of the chair-seat 1, lie flat thereagainst, without obstructing the orifice 7, or crossing the curved portions 21,21 of the leg-rods 19, 19. Each reversely-curved rod-portion 28 is, at the end thereof opposite the end carrying the hooks 27 27, doubled upon itself, for a portion of its length, as at 29,

to form, when the chair side-arm rods 28,28 are in the extended operative position shown in Fig. 1,'substantially horizontal projections. These doubled portions 29 are each formed, at a point removed from the free end thereof, with a curved bend 30, for a purpose presently appearing.

Each chair side-arm rod 28, after being bent upon itself, as stated, to form the projection 29, is bent, as at 31, on the are of a circle, in a direction away from the curved portion 28, to form the cradle or curved section 32, which, at its opposite end, is bent so as to form a projection 33, the wire being then doubled upon itself, as shown at 34, throughout the length of said bend 33 and throughout the larger portion of the length of the cradle-section 32. At the termination of the .doubled portion 34, the rod is bent at an angle to the cradle-section 32, as shown at 35, and is extended to form anarm 36, provided, at its free extremity, with a hook 37, engaging the adjacent loop 22 of the leg 19. This construction has been described with great minuteness and particularity, as it is deemed important. It will be noted that, when the rods 28, 28 are folded against the under surface of the seat 1, as shown in Fig. 4, the doubled portions 34, 34 of the cradle-sections 32 constitute handles, by which the chair may be conveniently held by the operators hand, when being carried about from place to place.

A tray 38, conveniently provided with a rolled edge 39 inclosing a rod or wire 40,

and also provided with cut-away portions 41, 41 at two corners thereof, may be hooked onto the projections 29, 29 by simply moving the tray so as to cause said projections to project into and engage the cut-away portions 41, 41. The wire 40 will then be seated in the curved seats 30, 30, and bear upwardly thereagainst, the tray 38 being supported against downward displacement by bearing upon and resting against the pro ections 33, 33. It will be recognized, by the described construction, that the tray may be placed in position and removed with maximum celerity and ease. It will also be recognized, by the described construction, that, when the tray is in position, the chair side-arms 28, 28 are held against movement and collapse, and said arm, in the described position thereof, exert an outward tension on the legs 19, 19, bringing the latter, at their upper extremities, tightly against the inner surface of the seat-flanges 2, 2, thereby constituting auxiliary locking means for said le 's.

it will be obvious that my commode may be easily disposed over a Water-closet seat, as, when it is desired to do so, all that has to be done is to hold the chair-legs 19 inward against the under surface of the commodeseat 1, and turn the chair-arms 28, 28, from the folded position shown in Fig. 4, outward until they are removed from beneath the seat and extend in a horizontal position outward therefrom. It will be apparent, also, that, when the chair is in collapsed position, as shown in Fig. 4, the tray 38 may be sprung over the spring-clips 16, 16, 16, the tray being disposed flat against the seat 1. The tray, in this position, is held by the clips against. accidental displacement, and it is obvious that, when the tray is so disposed, it bridges the commode-opening or orifice 7 All that has to be done to change the chair from a play-chair into a commode is to remove the cover 9.

F or the purpose of a full disclosure of my invention, I have herein described in some detail a specific embodiment thereof; but it will be apparent that numerous changes might be made in the physical embodiment of my invention, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not, therefore, desire to be understood as limiting myself, in the broader aspect of my invention, to the specific construction shown and described.

Having thus fully described my invention, both as to construction and functional operation, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a combination childs play-chair and commode, an apertured seat, curved rods pivoted at their lower extremities and forming side-arms for the chair, and foldable beneath said seat without obstructing said aperture, and a tray removably engaging said rods and holding them in operative, upright position, against collapse.

2. In a combination childs play-chair and commode, a seat having depending edgeflanges, legs pivoted to the inner surface of two of said flanges, side-arms pivoted to said legs, and a tray removably engaging said side-arms and locking them in operative upright position, said side-arms, in turn, holding said legs against said two flanges and thus locking said legs against pivotal movement.

3. In a combination childs play-chair and commode, a seat carrying spring clips, legs pivoted to said seat and foldable therebeneath, side-arms for the chair pivoted to said legs and also foldable beneath said seat, and a tray engageable with said clips in the collapsed position of the device.

4. In a combination childs play-chair and commode, a seat, and side-arms for the chair pivoted at their lower extremities and foldable beneath said seat and provided with portions projecting beyond said seat when said arms are folded therebeneath, said portions forming handles, by which the chair may be carried when in collapsed condition.

5. In a childs play-chair, a seat, side-arms,

a tray'remova-bly engaged by said arms, and set my hand in presence of two subscribing spring-clips carried by said seat, whereby, Witnesses.

When said tray is removed from said arms, it "WILLIAM H. YOUNG. may be placed on said seat and snapped over Witnesses: I and yieldingly held by said spring clips. J. O. SH ELDs,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto J. H. MORGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

